Globally, 14% of children and adolescents experience mental health disorders (1). Children living in poverty and orphans are disproportionately impacted. And yet, there is hope. Child-centered support and quality care can provide pathways to healing and resilience.
Children of the Nations (COTN) works in 5 countries, providing children with the social and emotional care they need and deserve.
As the Social Care Specialist for Children of the Nations International, I’m excited to cheer along the in-country staff as they work toward our social care end result: to raise emotionally healthy children who can integrate their past experiences into their lives, maintain connections with their communities, achieve lasting and meaningful relationships, and thrive in school and in the workplace.
October 2024 Update
This October, our Social Care staff in the Transformative Care Cohort embarked on an Advanced Trauma Competent Care course provided by Trauma Free World. Thanks to scholarships from the COTNI Social Care Department (funded through this page), one staff member from each country was able to participate. Six of us completed the course in English, while one staff member is completing it in Spanish.
In addition to this training, October was a busy month as we prepared for the 2025 release of the updated COTNI Child Protection Policy. At COTN, we are dedicated to ensuring the safety of everyone who interacts with our organization. We are committed to fostering a culture of safeguarding throughout the organization and to upholding the highest standards of safeguarding and protection so that all children and adults are protected from both deliberate and accidental harm and abuse. We recognize the importance of creating a safe and supportive environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
Looking ahead to 2025, we will focus on supporting our staff in implementing the new Child Protection Policy through comprehensive training and consultation.
To keep their administrative costs as low as possible, COTN asks all of its international staff to raise funds to support their department. Will you partner with me to support these initiatives to enhance the protection and care of COTN children around the world?
SOURCE: UNICEF analysis based on estimates from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease Study, 2019 as presented in the State of the World’s Children Report 2021.